Free Status Report - District Court of Connecticut - Connecticut

Case 3:03-cv-00409-DJS

Document 81

Filed 06/29/2007

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT Joel Menkes, et al., Plaintiffs, v. No. 3:03-CV-409 (DJS) Stolt-Nielsen S.A., et al., June 29, 2007 Defendants.

DEFENDANTS' STATUS UPDATE CONCERNING STAY OF DISCOVERY In its December 4, 2006 Order (dkt. # 77), this Court stayed discovery in this civil proceeding pending resolution of a parallel criminal action currently underway in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania brought against the Stolt-Nielsen corporate defendants, individual defendant Samuel A. Cooperman, and non-party (to this action) Richard B. Wingfield. The Order further required Defendants to file a status report on or before March 31, 2007 to (1) detail the progress of the criminal action; and (2) address the continuing need for the stay of discovery. As required, Defendants filed their status report on March 30, 2007 (dkt. # 78). Defendants explained that they were engaged in intensive briefing for an extensive evidentiary hearing scheduled to commence May 30, 2007 on the criminal defendants' motions to dismiss the indictment. Defendants also proposed to update this Court by June 29, 2007 regarding the status of the criminal matter. For the reasons set forth in the Court's December 4, 2006 Order and Defendants' updates to the Court, the stay should continue until final ruling on the criminal defendants' pending motions to dismiss the indictment. Because the criminal defendants' motions to dismiss will be ripe for decision by the end of August, Stolt-Nielsen proposes to update this Court as to the status of the criminal matter by September 28, 2007, or sooner if the United States District Court

Case 3:03-cv-00409-DJS

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for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania rules on the motions to dismiss the indictment before September 28, 2007. I. STATUS OF THE CRIMINAL ACTION In the criminal proceeding of United States v. Stolt-Nielsen S.A., et al., the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held a 14-day hearing from May 30, 2007 to June 21, 2007, on the criminal defendants' motions to dismiss the indictment. The court heard testimony from almost two dozen witnesses. The court has ordered the Government and the criminal defendants to submit proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, and post-hearing briefs. The briefing schedule is as follows: the criminal defendants' submissions are due by July 16, 2007, the Government's submissions are due by August 6, 2007, and the criminal defendants' reply submissions are due by August 27, 2007. Hr'g. Tr. 6/20/2007, at 233:10 ­ 235:17 (Ex. 1). After briefing is complete, the criminal defendants' motions to dismiss the indictment will be ripe for decision. II. THE STAY OF DISCOVERY SHOULD CONTINUE PENDING FINAL RESOLUTION OF CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS While the criminal proceeding is ongoing, Defendants continue to face the same prejudice that this Court identified in its Order staying discovery. Individual defendant Samuel Cooperman and other Stolt-Nielsen witnesses continue to face criminal jeopardy as long as the status of Stolt-Nielsen's amnesty remains unresolved. Thus, the Fifth Amendment issues this Court identified in its Order, as well as other concerns Defendants raised in briefing the stay issue, still would prejudice Defendants if this matter proceeds simultaneously with the parallel criminal case. See, e.g., Bridgeport Harbour Place I, LLC v. Ganim, 269 F. Supp. 2d 6, 8 (D. Conn. 2002). Finally, as post-hearing briefing will end by August 27, 2007, Defendants anticipate minimal additional delay before the court rules on the motions to dismiss the

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indictment. Accordingly, the factors set forth in Bridgeport, upon which this Court relied in staying discovery, warrant continuation of the stay pending final resolution of the criminal defendants' motions to dismiss.

Respectfully submitted, Defendants Stolt-Nielsen S.A., Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group Ltd., Jacob Stolt-Nielsen, Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen, Samuel Cooperman and Reginald J.R. Lee

Michael P. Shea (ct19598) Jason S. Weathers (ct24579) Day Pitney LLP City Place I 185 Asylum Street Hartford, CT 06103-3499 Tel: (860) 275-0356 Fax: (860) 275-0343 E-Mail: [email protected]

By:/s/ Jaime M. Crowe Christopher M. Curran (ct22743) J. Mark Gidley (ct18450) Peter J. Carney (ct24721) Jaime M. Crowe (ct25657) 701 Thirteenth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20005 Tel: (202) 626-3600 Fax: (202) 639-9355 E-Mail: [email protected]

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Case 3:03-cv-00409-DJS

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Filed 06/29/2007

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CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that on June 29, 2007, a copy of the foregoing Defendants' Status Update Concerning Stay of Discovery was filed electronically and served by mail on anyone unable to accept electronic filing. Notice of this filing will be sent by e-mail to all parties by operation of the Court's electronic filing system or by mail to anyone unable to accept electronic filing as indicated on the Notice of Electronic Filing. Parties may access this filing through the Court's CM/ECF System.

By:

/s/ Jaime M. Crowe Jaime M. Crowe (#ct25657) 701 Thirteenth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20005 Tel: (202) 626-3600 Fax: (202) 639-9355 [email protected]